On 8-10 September, the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and the International Apparel Federation (IAF) jointly hold their annual convention for the first time in their histories.

This year’s venue is the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. IAF and ITMF organize it with their mutual Uzbek member, the Uzbekistan Textile and Garment Industry Association. The convention’s theme is “Innovation, Cooperation and Regulation – Drivers of the Textile and Apparel Industry”.

At the Samarkand convention, IAF and ITMF will bring together the entire supply chain, including raw material suppliers, spinners, weavers, machine suppliers, garment and home textile manufacturers, brands, retailers, solution providers, and educators. Industry experts and leaders will discuss the relevance of innovation, cooperation, and regulation for our industry and how they will influence and shape the future. The convention will also introduce the Uzbek textile and garment industry to the rest of the world, providing a good view of this industry, both during the conference program and during the planned factory visits.

Uzbekistan was known as one of the major cotton producers in the world. But in the last 10-15 years, it has turned from a major cotton exporting country to a cotton importing country. During this time, Uzbekistan has developed a textile and apparel industry in an exciting early stage of rapid development.

IAF and ITMF are organizing their annual conventions together out of a strong conviction that the apparel and textile industries must jointly discuss collective solutions for our common industry challenges. Textile and garment manufacturers hold keys to the solutions the entire fashion industry relies upon. Reduction of the environmental footprint of textile and apparel products happens at the level of fiber producers, spinners, weavers, knitters, finishers, printers, and sewing operations. Information needed to fill a Digital Product Passport or run a 3D digital design and development operation requires an effective flow of information between all textile and apparel value chain segments.

UzA